We would like to announce that the USA premiere of the award-winning opera Anya17 has been confirmed for June next year.

Anya17 will be performed in San Francisco by Opera Parallèle over June / July 2014, highlighting the very serious contemporary issue of Human Trafficking on the West Coast.

California is a top destination for Human Trafficking in the United States, and within California itself, the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles have the highest rates of Human Trafficking.

Anya17’s Composer Adam Gorb expressed his horror over the US Trafficking statistics, and said that “This is very exciting news. I’m thrilled that this work which is dealing with a world-wide problem is now reaching audiences around the globe.”

In addition to those Trafficked into the USA from foreign countries every year, an estimated 100,000 children in The States today are victims of Sex Trafficking within US borders, with another 200,000 at risk. The victims are primarily adolescent girls between the ages of 12 and 16. The average age of entry for children deceived and coerced into the sex trade is a mere 12 years. Approximately 80% of human trafficking victims are women and girls and up to 50% are minors.

Anya17’s Librettist Ben Kaye added “Whilst these statistics are truly appalling, numbers simply cannot convey the victims’ suffering; Statistics don’t let us look into their eyes. When their stories are told, we hope that legislators and members of the public alike will be moved to act.”

Anya17 received its UK premiere with The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Ensemble 10/10 in 2012, following which the opera won the ‘Best Stage or Film Production’ Award at The House of Commons, presented by the Human Trafficking Foundation with the support of The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Human Trafficking.

Anya17 Blog

Follow the progress of the extraordinary Anya17 opera as it journeys from libretto to score, through auditions and rehearsals to its premiere by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Ensemble 10/10 in March 2012 and beyond. Read the latest updates from the writers, performers, musicians, NGOs, documentary filmmakers and other volunteers involved in this unique project to raise awareness of sex trafficking to end modern day slavery.